Writing an effective academic CV
Ehouman Evans
PhD Student Botany and Phytotherapy
ehoumanevans@gmail.com
March 29, 2017
Table of Contents
Definition 1
A curriculum vitae allows you to showcase yourself and your academic and professional achievements in a concise, effective way.
Academic CVs differ from the CVs typically used by non-academics in industry, because you need to present your research, various publications and awarded funding in addition to the various other items contained in a nonacademic CV.
Definition 2
To start with some general advice first, you should consider length, structure and formatting of your CV.
Length
Since academic CVs must present so much information with regard to research and publications ;
It is generally acceptable if CVs are more than 2 pages long,
It is best not to exceed 4 pages maximum.
Structure
Structure
Structure
Structure
- Brief personal details,
- Brief career summary,
- Your education,
- Publications and research should follow,
- Funding, awards and prizes,
- Teaching roles, administrative experience, technical and professional skills and qualifications,
- Any professional affiliations or memberships, conference and seminar attendances and a list of references.
Formatting
Your CV should be clear and easy to read Use legible font types in a normal size (font size 11 or 12) with normal sized margins (such as 1 inch or 2.5 cm margins).
Use bullet points to highlight important items and to concisely present your credentials.
Do not use more than 2 font types in your CV;
Formatting 2
Make smart, but sparing use of bold, italics and underlining;
Be aware of spelling and grammar and ensure it is perfect;
Re-read a few times after writing the CV to ensure there are no errors and the CV is indeed (Double check!)
Structure 1
Personal Details
- name,
- address of residence,
- phone number(s)
- professional e-mail address,
You may also include your visa status.
Structure 2
Career Summary
Brief summary of approximately 5 -7 sentences summarizing your expertise in your discipline(s),
Years of expertise in the area(s),
Noteworthy research findings,
Key achievements and publications.
Structure 3
Education
Provide an overview of your education starting from your first academic degree to the most recent degree obtained,
Include the names of the institutions,
Thesis or dissertation topics and type of degree obtained.
Structure 4
Publications
Listing of publications is a key part of an academic's CV.
List your most reputed publications in ranking of type, such as books, book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, non-peer-reviewed articles, articles presented as prestigious conferences, forthcoming publications, reports, patents, and so forth.
Structure 5
Research
As an academic :
Your research experiences,
Your findings,
The methods you use,
Your general research interests,
are critical to present in the first part of your CV.
Structure 6
Other skills and qualifications
As an academic :
key skills and qualifications relevant to your research and academic work,
Technical and practical skills,
certifications,
Languages,
are critical to present in the first part of your CV.
Structure 7
Attendance at conferences and seminars
List the most relevant conferences or seminars where you presented or participated in a panel within the last 5-7 years.
In an appendix, you can add an exhaustive list of conferences and seminars where you participated by giving a speech, presented a paper or research, or participated in a discussion panel.
To conclude
This is important to keep in mind when preparing your CV. You will regularly need to update your CV and to adapt it for the various purposes
Reference
Elsevier Biggerbrains (2013). Writing an effective academic CV : How to create a curriculum vitae that is compelling, well-organized and easy to read.